A group of charities has recently issued a warning that some motorists in Wales are having to take on debt in order to keep their vehicles on the road.
A recent estimate has shown that people in the area are having to spend around a 10th of their incomes on running their vehicles.
Unfortunately, the alternatives in many parts of Wales are not acceptable and people are forced to run vehicles so they can get to work. People also always have to travel by car if they want to reach nearby amenities, such as shops, because the public transport situation in the country is so bad.
Lee Waters works at Sustrans Cymru and he is commented, “It is terrible that in this country if you don’t have a car your life is going to be limited. It is simply not the case that everyone is capable of affording a vehicle and if Wales wants to seriously deal with the issue of unemployment and poverty, then they need to improve the public transport system. People who cannot afford vehicles need to be able to get around as well and not having the facilities for doing this is unacceptable.”
Many of the policies created in Wales focus on the fact that everyone has a car, but this is simply not the case. Around 25 percent of the Welsh population do not have their own vehicle, which means that attempts to make transport cheaper by cutting road tax, are not effective. In order to improve people’s mobility situation in the country, the government need to focus spending on public transportation.
A national transport plan for Wales was initiated last December and a spokesperson from this plan has stated, “We are working very hard on creating more accessible, and affordable, public transportation. Furthermore we are working on creating ways for people to get around more easily by cycling or by walking.”
The government for the UK however seems completely focused on cutting the cost of fuel having recently stated, “We are putting aside £4 billion in order to make motoring more affordable.”
